Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 585 "You are all my brothers and sisters"

Fang Minghua listened and thought about it carefully, and realized that it was indeed true.

This era is changing so fast.

"Minghua, the textile factory's profitability is declining, and workers are starting to be laid off. This has become a social phenomenon that cannot be ignored, but literary works rarely pay attention to it. Your novel appears very timely."

"Haha, Bai Miao, don't be so hasty to praise me. Wait until you have reviewed it and see if it is worthy of your praise."

"Look at what you said. What you wrote, Minghua, must be a masterpiece."

The two chatted for a few more minutes, and then Fang Minghua said goodbye and left.

Soon, this article "The Textile Girl" was published in the editor-in-chief's recommended column in the new issue of "Yanhe" magazine.

Minghua has started writing a novel again!
After Fang Minghua finished writing the novel "Skywalker", he suddenly became interested in essays. He traveled to Tianhan in Qin Province and Baiyin in Gan Province, and wrote the essay collection "Fragments of Civilization", which shocked the literary world and created the essay genre of "cultural essays".

For a time, many writers followed suit. The most successful one was Yu Qiuyu, who resigned as the dean of Shanghai Theatre Academy. His book "Cultural Journey" made the genre of cultural essays even more popular.

Later, he wrote several scripts in succession, including "Raise the Red Lantern" and "A Chinese Odyssey in New York", which became popular films and TV series on both big and small screens.

Then I was busy with the World Chinese Literature Award. I didn’t publish a single novel in China within two years.

Now I’m finally back to my old job!
This short and concise novel immediately attracted the interest of readers and critics as soon as it was published.

Will Minghua lead the writing trend in the novel world like he did in the 1980s?

But you won’t know until you finish reading it.

No.

It can only be classified as a neo-realist novel.

The whole novel has a calm tone, but it describes the joys, sorrows, anger and happiness of contemporary female textile workers with a gentle gaze.

Readers are surprised to find that the textile workers, a group that was once a source of pride in the 1980s, have now become so destitute.

The famous critic Radar wrote the following comment:
"Minghua's novel reminded me of his article "Red Skirts Are Popular in the Street" written ten years ago. In his writing, the group of weaving girls were so bright, lively and full of vitality. Ten years later, they have become a group of women who are struggling to make a living and are even willing to lose face.

What happened in the end?
Is it their fault or the fault of the times?

No one answered.

At the same time, a review was published in Yenching Youth, written by a student named Liu Jing from the Chinese Department of Yenching Normal University:
The title is "You are all my brothers and sisters"

I like textile workers

My mother is a textile worker. She has a group of close friends, and when she was a child, there would always be one day reserved for her sisters during the Chinese New Year.

Women in textile factories, especially those in Xijing, are not as impetuous and noisy as a flock of sparrows as most people think. Of course, there are bold types, but many are also gentle and quiet. Although they look rustic and even a little vulgar after dressing up, I think they look so.

My mother is now 45 years old and has been laid off. In the past two years, when I went back home during the winter vacation, I had to help my mother carry a pile of medical expense reimbursement forms and go to her former workplace. There was a long queue, and most of the people in the queue were textile workers.

Retired old women, middle-aged women who are still working or have been laid off, and girls who are about my age and have just started working.

The story told by the writer Minghua is better than I expected. It is not Renoir's Laundress nor Italian neo-realism.

This is just a story about a woman who is facing death. In her last days, what she wants to do most is to see the only man she has ever loved in her short life.

I saw Zhang Li's kind husband carrying her on a bicycle to go to the dance hall to dance. Many girls in our class found it unbelievable and thought it was nonsense made up by the writer, but I knew it was true.

When my mother was chatting with someone else, she mentioned that someone from a certain family went to the dance hall to do something. I felt very ashamed when I heard it.

But that's the reality.

Reality is more cruel than what writers describe.

But I am a girl and I don’t want to say these things. I would rather regard this novel as a love story.

A very nice love story.

We all think that life is long enough to have enough time to fall in love, and we will love many, many people and experience many, many things. But in fact, most people may only love a handful of people in their lives, or like the textile worker, only one. He and she missed each other in that era. He loved her all his life, and she loved him all her life, but they chose to accept their fate like all people of that era.

Until she knew her life was about to end, she finally didn't care about anything anymore, she wanted to find him. She found him, and she knew that he also loved her all the time.

They were each other's lifelong love, but she was about to die.

I like Zhang Li, I like the warm songs that appear in the novels, and I also like the way Minghua uses his pen, as if he is looking at the Chinese people in his mind with a pair of gentle eyes.

Everyone is gentle, kind and tolerant, just like Zhang Li's lines. Isn't this how all Chinese people live?

They are just like Zhang Li, Zhao Luhan and Zhang Li’s kind husband, these ordinary, poor Chinese people, you are my brothers and sisters.

Fang Minghua also saw this article in the magazine. He did not know the girl named Liu Jing, and could not remember whether she became a writer later.

But it is not important.

As long as it is well written.

My article "The Textile Girl" has been reprinted by several magazines, and I have also received many letters from readers.

Some of them came from textile workers' families. There was even a laid-off female worker from Northeast China who cried about her experience in the letter, which made Fang Minghua feel heartbroken.

To be honest, there is nothing I can do.

Or you can send some money anonymously, after all, he is someone from your hometown.

Of course, it could also be a scam.

There are more scammers in this era.

"It doesn't matter if you're lying. I'll at least be fooled this once." Fang Minghua laughed at himself.

In that case, Fang Minghua decided to go to the post office tomorrow and send 5000 yuan to the other party according to the address on the envelope.

At this moment, Fang Minghua suddenly heard a faint knock on the door in the yard, followed by Xiao Dou Miao's wild barking.

A stranger is coming?
People who often visit Fang Minghua's home, such as Lu Yao and Jia Pingwa, all know that there is a doorbell installed on his front door, so there is no need to knock hard.

And Xiao Dou Miao also knew that they would not bark so fiercely.

Fang Minghua went downstairs and opened the door to the yard. As expected, he saw two young men, one of whom Fang Minghua knew.

Translated by Zhang Jia.

Since Zhang Jiayi played Sun Shaoping in "Ordinary World", he became an instant hit and started to make his way to the big screen.

Last year I filmed a movie called "Encounter with Passion" and played the leading male role.

Haven’t you seen another thin young man, Fang Minghua?

Seeing Fang Minghua open the door, Zhang Jiayi immediately said in a respectful tone: "Teacher Fang, I'm sorry to bother you."

"Oh, nothing, Jiayi, what's the matter?"

"Teacher Fang, there is something."

"Come in and talk."

Fang Minghua glanced at the silent young man next to him again, then turned and walked into the yard.

The two followed behind him and entered the living room on the first floor. Fang Minghua asked them to sit down and poured them each a cup of tea.

At this time, Zhang Jiayi said, "Teacher Fang, let me introduce you. This is Wang Quanan, the director of Xi'an Film Academy, and my classmate at Yandian University."

Wang Quan An?!

(End of this chapter)